Little Copper Pennies – Revised Edition from Borealis Press IN COLOUR

Little Copper Pennies immortalizes the fun, traditions and language associated with the Canadian icon, the retired penny. Unique, the only brown coin, and with the maple leaf, the little penny has left holes in many hearts.

This is not a book on finance or cold currency. It is warm, nostalgic and fun, filled with true stories from people of past eras as well as the present. 100 pennies will always make a dollar so keeping its memory alive is meritorious. I want you to remember what the penny looked like and what it once did, and how it lost its value and place in the history it majestically ushered. Time travel back then return to the present in the chapters as told by interviewees. Each chapter contains a sweet anecdote, penny trivia and fun activities to keep anyone occupied. e.g. When were pennies called the “godless” coins? Why? Have you done penny magic? Find these and more in:

Chapter 1 Bad News – The lead up to the removal of the penny and the decision to capture its memory

Chapter 2 The Maple Leaf – The only brown coin in the money system and the only one with the maple leaf on it. Its significance to all especially the First Nations people.

Chapter 3 In the Fountain – The tradition of throwing pennies in fountains, its origin and outcomes.

Chapter 4 The Pennies in the Locomotive – A mechanic plugs a CN locomotive fuel lines with pennies and the train makes it safely from Saskatchewan to Montreal.

Chapter 5 Around the House – Practical uses of the penny e.g. putting one in water to revive drooping tulips, weighing down hems of drapes and much more. A crusty neighbour breaks down over penny memories.

Chapter 6 The Collection and a Biker – The impact of being 1-cent short. To give or not give a penny. Reference to the widow and the coppers in the Bible.

Chapter 7 The Penny in the Cake – The delightful tradition of baking cakes with pennies and the origin and meaning behind the tradition.

Chapter 8 The Ol’ Days – Fun and more fun stories of specific items a penny used to purchase in the 1950s. Non-financial uses of the penny.

Chapter 9 More of the Good Ol’ Days – A wistful and somewhat sorrowful look back in the 1920s when pennies were scare.

Pictures of Pennies – Fifteen images including the first penny of 1858, the last one of 2012, the most valuable one, the Rock Dove penny, the 12-sided penny and lots more in COLOUR. Pie charts showing the composition of pennies also in colour. A good chemistry exercise.

Chapter 10 Grade Five – Pupils express their views on the removal of the penny in Social Studies class.

Chapter 11 High School Debate – High School students argue the pros and cons of the penny’s removal from the economy. Relevant to Canadian Studies.

Chapter 12 The Retailers Meeting – Business people discuss implications of the penny’s withdrawal as it affects customers, and internal procedures to accommodate the penny-less transactions. Relevant to Canadian Studies.

Chapter 13 D.G. and other Symbolic Meanings – What does DG mean? The Latin inscription that recognizes the blessings of God. An unduplicated read.

Chapter 15 A Slice of Pop Culture – The loss in language and comprehension as it relates to penny sayings and phrases.

Chapter 16 The Eulogy – Final memories, and laying the penny to rest.

Appendix 1 100 Transactions Rounded off – Who wins in the rounding process? See the results of this experiment and conduct your own. A fun Math exercise.

Appendix 2 Canada’s penny withdrawal: All you need to know – Article used with permission from CBC. Bar graphs showing number of pennies minted by years from 1908-2012. And the year of highest production is ___?

Endnotes and Additional Reading – Bibliographic references. Great for a research paper.